Here’s how the Once Upon A Time In China series ranks from worst to best. Any fan of the martial arts film genre and especially of the Hong Kong variety knows the name Wong Fei-hung well. The legendary healer, master of Hung Ga kung fu, and Chinese folk hero has been the subject of innumerable movies. While their stories are largely apocryphal to Wong’s actual life, the legend he left behind is what the adaptations are truly inspired by, and few have been as popular as the Once Upon A Time In China movies.
The first Once Upon A Time In China debuted in 1991, directed by legendary filmmaker Tsui Hark with the then still relatively new Jet Li portraying Wong. The film was a colossal hit, and also popularized George Lam’s rendition of “A Man Of Determination” as the definitive take on the theme song associated with Wong as a kung fu movie hero. Here is the Once Upon A Time In China series, ranked from weakest to strongest.
6. Once Upon A Time In China IV (1993)
Once Upon a Time in China 4 is a major step down from the previous trilogy. In Once Upon a Time in China IV, Wong returns to Beijing for the Lion Dance competition and ends up fighting the Red Lantern sect. He also meets his lover Yi Siu-kwan’s (Rosamund Kwan) sister, Mei, also known as “The 14th Aunt” (Jin Wan), in recognition of their distant family ties, and her romantic feelings for Wong bring out one of the greatest movie problems. Released in June 1993, just four months after its immediate predecessor,
Once Upon a Time in China IV feels less like passing the torch from Jet Li to Vincent Zhao and more like a looser rehash of elements of its predecessors with less impressive kung fu action scenes. . As Mei, the Lion Dance Competition, and the Red Light Sect, many of the elements of Once Upon a Time in China 4 have a direct and much better executed parallel in the previous three films.
No martial arts fight scene in the film is as memorable as the original Once Upon a Time in China.
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5. Once Upon A Time In China Once V (1994)
“Once Upon a Time in China 5” In the film, Wong and his friends fight the pirates, and Rosamund Kwan also returns as Yi, which forms a love triangle between her, Wong, and May. For what it’s trying to do, Once Upon a Time in China V is pretty enjoyable. Released in November 1994, Zhao has had more time to grow into Wong’s role as a formidable martial artist, compared to the rushed nature of his appearance on the series, and for the second time as a revered kung fu folk hero, he gets the job done adequately. if not effective.
However, many of the same issues that led to the collapse of Once Upon a Time in China 4 are still present here, including its diluted tone of the epic, grand historical adventure of the first three films in the series.
The action scenes also cross the line and turn into sheer silliness with their over-reaching wired fu. Among the six films in the Once Upon a Time in China V series, not the worst, but certainly the most general and definitely one of the weakest films in Tsui Hark’s career. Despite financial ruin, Zhao returned to the Wong Fei-Hung series which ran from 1995 to 1996.
4. Once Upon A Time In China III (1993)
“Once Upon a Time in China 3” was another dynamic adventure of Wong Feihun, although it was somewhat inferior to its predecessors. Trip to Beijing with Yi to the “Lion Dance” competition, while a foreign conspiracy is unfolding to assassinate Emperor Li Hongzhang. “Once in China 3” is just as magnificently shot and staged as its predecessors, opening with the Lion Dance in the Forbidden City with a new and perhaps even more powerful version of “Human Determination”. The only thing that really prevents “Once Upon a Time in China III” from fully achieving the same high mark as the previous two is the general feeling that its grandeur is not so pronounced. The first two films “Once in China” were epic in the true sense of the word. “Once Upon a Time in China 3” strives and mostly succeeds in the same, but does not fully convey the energy and grace that should be in an epic film based on Chinese martial arts.RELATED:
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3. Once Upon A Time In China & America (1997)
Jet Li debuted in Hollywood only in 1998, when the film “Lethal Weapon 4” was released, but, nevertheless, a year earlier he faced opponents in America in the film “Once Upon a Time in China and America”. In the sixth film of the series, Wong and Yee go to San Francisco to visit the American clinic Po Chi-lam, which is run by his student “Bucktooth” So (Power Chan), only to find themselves involved in a conflict in the style of the Wild West. Although Lee’s return to the role of Wong took place in a shorter and less large-scale film than his previous adventures Wong Fei-hun, directed by Sammo Hung, “Once Upon a Time in China and America” still effectively combines the roots of kung fu films with fun. This film became a kind of swan song for Sammo Hung, and “Once Upon a Time in China and America” was Hung’s last film as a director until “Bodyguard” in 2016.
2. Once Upon A Time In China (1991)
“Once Upon a Time in China”. While running his Po Chi-lam clinic in Foshan, Wong comes into conflict to stop the local Shaho gang who are working with local Western officials in a human trafficking operation. Wong is also forced to face his kung fu rival “Iron Vest” Yim (Yen Shih-kwang), who is determined to defeat Wong to establish his reputation in Foshan. Under the direction of Cui Hark, Once Upon a Time in China has been perfectly preserved in its original form. The opening practice montage of Wong training his students on the beach for Man of Resolve already makes the film’s hero a legend, even to those unfamiliar with his story. As a film about a literal kung fu legend, Once Upon a Time in China is as classic as they are. The martial arts fights are as graceful as they are powerful, but nothing compares to Wong’s final showdown with Yim, which cemented Lee’s rising fame in Hong Kong. Once Upon a Time in China is among the big-screen adventure films that have most honored him.RELATED:
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1. Once Upon A Time In China II (1992)
Once Upon a Time in China 2 exceeded all expectations set by the original. In the sequel, Wong and Yi Siu-kwan travel to Canton to have Wong give a lecture on Chinese medicine, but the city is in disarray both due to foreign occupation and the rise of a nationalist group known as the White Lotus. Lee was already very comfortable in the role of Wong, coping with his fight scenes and trying to be a diplomat between the two cultures even more naturally than before. Once Upon a Time in China 2 is also notable for the villainous appearance of future Ip Man star Donnie Yen.
As Wong’s rival, Yen already radiated the energy he would later bring to his career as the best antagonist on Once Upon a Time in China. While Once Upon a Time in China 2 is just as big in its epic scope and full of action as the original, Yen’s fights with Li are his high praise. The uplifting moments of Wong rushing into battle and the more relaxed scenes of Wong and Yi’s relationship are all over the place in Once Upon a Time in China 2 and have earned it the title of the best chapter in the Once Upon a Time in China series. .